gh2 price increase

Fohdeesha said:
I'm sure he knows, he probably just didn't want to make an unnecessary duplicate thread.

But he's right, panasonic did that huge price drop with the kit lens to a crazy low $750 a couple weeks ago, and as I bought one full price just right before that, it kind of peeved me a bit. Needless to say I feel better now that it's back up to a full 900 bucks! (selfish, I know :tongue:)
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He may or may not have known it was an old thread, but he's also wrong on the camera's current price ;-) It's still under $800 in several places (e.g., $780 at Unique Photo).

Cheers,

Bill
 
Meh, it'll be down soon enough. There are a lot of exciting cameras coming out, and soon the GH3 rumors will start, so an eventual price drop seems inevitable... but who knows.
 
OldCorpse said:
Meh, it'll be down soon enough. There are a lot of exciting cameras coming out, and soon the GH3 rumors will start, so an eventual price drop seems inevitable... but who knows.
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True, but several exciting new cameras have rolled out already and turned out to be underwhelming. But because they start with N or C, they are still considered exciting. Panasonic needs to get with the times. They need to learn to do incremental updated versions.

If Panasonic had a modern leadership, we would already have a GH2 mk II with the needed improvements in color fidelity for video and flawless HDMI output. What else do we need? The cameras can take perfect RAW images already, so any tweaking could potentially increase the quality for video and we would have future proof for three years to come and happily sell and use improved cameras still superior to many multi thousand offerings who only recently have entered the playground.
 
Aki_Hartikainen said:
Panasonic needs to get with the times. They need to learn to do incremental updated versions.

If Panasonic had a modern leadership, we would already have a GH2 mk II with the needed improvements in color fidelity for video and flawless HDMI output. What else do we need? The cameras can take perfect RAW images already, so any tweaking could potentially increase the quality for video and we would have future proof for three years to come and happily sell and use improved cameras still superior to many multi thousand offerings who only recently have entered the playground.
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I've given up trying to understand Panasonic, and in general, I think it makes little sense for us, outsiders, to attempt to understand what prompts market behavior by any large company. I've come to the conclusion that trying to fathom such things is like trying to predict the future based on reading tea leaves. Very few people have access to such strategic plans, and speculation is mostly reflective of the fears and desires of those doing the speculating. So I stopped.

I simply look to what I need, and if one company doesn't provide it, I look at other options - but it's a waste of time to cry on boards about what my dream would be for Panasonic/Canon/Sony/Whoever to do.

I tell you what. I'm satisfied with the GH2 in that it can do for me what I need for my project. Doesn't mean that it can't be improved - just that it's reached a point where I feel comfortable putting my money down to purchase this TOOL to do my work. If Panasonic decides to come out with a GH3 in the near future and it gives me much more, I might buy it - or I might not. Here's what I'd need for the GH3 to have in order for me to buy it:

1)Clean HDMI out
2)Observably less banding and artifacts
3)Another stop in DR
4)Observably less jello

And that's it. I think it's doable without raising the price, but I'm not an engineer or manufacturing expert, so I don't actually know that for a fact. If Panasonic does it, I buy it. If someone else delivers the same, at roughly the same price point I do that. For me, what's more important right now is lens lock-in. Once you've picked a system, like say, the m4/3, and you start assembling your lenses, the real game starts - that's one reason I'm not bothering with the BMC at the moment. The GH2 is good enough for me, for right now. And pricewise, I honestly don't care about $200-$300 this way or that. If it's $600 or $900, does it really make that much difference? That's barely the price of one good lens. Like anybody, I'd rather spend less than more, but to me, anything sub $1K is immaterial as a cost. Are you really going to make a camera purchase decision for a project you need right NOW, based on $300 difference in price? Wow. I mean, I'm talking a $10K feature. To me, at that budget level, the difference isn't material unless you're talking about a $2000 difference... like buying a $1K GH2 vs $3K BMC - if all I have is $10K budget in total, I'm going to think long and hard about what that extra $2K is buying me in getting a BMC vs a GH2... and to me, at least so far, it's GH2, no ifs buts or maybes, whether the price is $500 or $900.
 
All are valid points and the sad thing is that 1-3 could be delivered with minor improvements. If the camera can take flawless RAW images, which it does, then the video just needs some more tweaking. The situation for the camera company is the same as it is for any hackers: they need to stop tweaking at some point and start delivering. But while doing that somebody will still find out, "oh, I found this tweak and now the video would show less banding".

Any company who is not willing to improve existing products actively is a bad company.
 
brunerww said:
He may or may not have known it was an old thread, but he's also wrong on the camera's current price ;-) It's still under $800 in several places (e.g., $780 at Unique Photo).

Cheers,

Bill
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I think he was referring to the B&H price of $899. It was down to $750 a few weeks ago but the promo ended. Has anyone here had experience ordering from Unique Photo? The price is $119 cheaper than B&H but I have never heard of Unique Photo until now. What is there service like?

I am looking to pick up another GH2 and could kick myself for missing the recent deals.

Cole
 
GH2 still in stock at Texas Media Systems. Also - we are blowing out G3, GF3 and GF2 cameras. We stocked up and turned out GH2 was the main one we needed. Let's make a deal. Call, PM or email me. Please.
 
OldCorpse said:
If Panasonic decides to come out with a GH3 in the near future and it gives me much more, I might buy it - or I might not. Here's what I'd need for the GH3 to have in order for me to buy it:

1)Clean HDMI out
2)Observably less banding and artifacts
3)Another stop in DR
4)Observably less jello
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What is the DR of the GH2?
 
OldCorpse said:
You'll get arguments, but it's about 10. But I go by eye as far as what I need - and to my eye, I'd very much like another stop.
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I'd say 9 for video and ~11 for RAW images. The RAW images have The Look, but the video falls short no matter what. If you're interested, I have a HD video made of 4k RAW images at: http://www.fourseasonshd.com/cgi-bin/csvsearch.pl?db=db1&tp=tp19&search=bluelight6

If the video from GH1 and GH2 could look a bit like that, I would be making movies and not complaining and fiddling with the settings.
 
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I pulled the trigger on a great deal through Samy's for my second GH2. GH2 Body and the 14-42 lens for $749 after an instant rebate of $150 and it included free shipping. I ordered it Monday afternoon and it arrived today (Saturday) via FedEx. Not quite the 2 day turnaround I get from B&H but it was traveling from California to Maryland so I expected it to take a little longer.

I think the deal is good through 5/12 so there is still time to grab them at this steal of a deal.
 
Cole said:
I pulled the trigger on a great deal through Samy's for my second GH2. GH2 Body and the 14-42 lens for $749 after an instant rebate of $150 and it included free shipping. I ordered it Monday afternoon and it arrived today (Saturday) via FedEx. Not quite the 2 day turnaround I get from B&H but it was traveling from California to Maryland so I expected it to take a little longer.

I think the deal is good through 5/12 so there is still time to grab them at this steal of a deal.
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I almost did that too. I went to their website and saw an open box for $550. I called them up, and the unit had been returned the same day it was purchased, and went with that instead.

So I got a practically new GH2 with 14-42mm for $550. :grin:
 
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